A scene from the 1977 Hindi film Immaan Dharam features Amitabh Bachchan entering a courtroom and confidently delivering an over-the-top testimony in support of Gullu Miyan, leaving the judge and lawyers astonished. When asked about Gullu Miyan’s height, he raises one hand.
But when it is revealed that Gullu Miyan is actually a rooster, he calmly lifts the other hand, neatly covering one lie with another. Nearly five decades later, a strangely similar scenario appears to have unfolded not on a movie set but within police records in Mauganj, Madhya Pradesh.
An investigation has uncovered that a small group of individuals—drivers, cooks, sweepers, vegetable vendors, and even a physically disabled man—were repeatedly used as so-called “professional witnesses” in hundreds of criminal cases spread across multiple police stations.
These findings emerged from the police’s own Crime and Criminal Tracking and Network System (CCTNS), which reveals a disturbing pattern in the Indragarhi and Naigarhi police station areas of Mauganj.
According to the data, Amit Kushwaha, the personal driver of then Station House Officer Jagdish Singh Thakur, and Dinesh Kushwaha, a vegetable seller who also cooked at the police station, appear together as witnesses or informants in 106 cases. In 18 of those cases, Amit Kushwaha is listed as the sole witness. The cases involve offences related to cannabis, illegal liquor, and arms. Records further show that wherever Jagdish Singh Thakur was posted, Amit Kushwaha’s name consistently appeared as a witness, earning him the local tag of a “travelling witness” who moved with the officer rather than with the crime.
A closer look at the records reveals further irregularities. In 2020, Amit Kushwaha’s age was officially recorded as 20, but five years later, in 2025, it appears as just 21. In one instance, he is listed not as a witness but as the complainant.
Dinesh Kushwaha, whose name appears alongside Amit’s in more than a hundred cases, claims he testified in only one case during Thakur’s tenure—a cannabis-related matter—and has no idea why his name features in so many FIRs. “I sell vegetables and sometimes cook at the police station. I have signed in two or three places, that is true, but they write the names themselves. I am a poor man. Should I run my shop or keep travelling to Mauganj and Rewa to give testimony?” he said.
Other entries in the CCTNS point to a similar trend. Arun Tiwari, a physically disabled resident living near the police station, is listed as a witness or informant alongside Amit Kushwaha in six cases. In a troubling turn, Arun himself was later booked in a robbery case at the Naigarhi police station on May 19, 2025. Arun maintains that he was out of town between May 17 and May 19. While the FIR states the incident occurred on May 19, the case was registered on May 21. The same individual repeatedly used as a witness was abruptly made an accused.
Ramakant Yadav, a cleaner at the Naigarhi police station, is shown as a witness in 14 cases. He says he does not recall how he became a witness and has never appeared in court to testify. Rahul Vishwakarma, who drives the police station vehicle, is listed as a witness in 18 cases. “I have never gone to give testimony. During Jagdish Singh’s tenure, when people were brought in after arrest, they would write things down. I didn’t sign anything. I only drove the vehicle,” he said.
Based on portal data and initial scrutiny, it is alleged that more than 500 cases registered between 2022 and 2025 relied on such “fixed” or “pocket” witnesses, and that over 150 FIRs across police stations where Jagdish Singh Thakur was posted, including Naigarhi, may be fabricated or manipulated.
Social activist and complainant Kunjbihari Tiwari, who flagged the issue to senior officials, said, “The same person appears as a witness in more than 150 FIRs. Just as officers get transferred, the witness moves with them. Even if five incidents occur in a single day, the witness is always the same. They keep witnesses in their pocket. If no action is taken, we will approach the High Court.”
Following the exposure of the issue, Mauganj Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Soni removed Jagdish Singh Thakur from the Naigarhi police station and transferred him to the police lines. The matter has now been handed over to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) for investigation.
“I have received the complaint and an inquiry is underway. Appropriate legal action will be taken based on the findings,” SP Soni said.
Former Assembly Speaker and BJP MLA Girish Gautam also described the matter as serious, stating, “An investigation will be conducted and action will follow. Even the Supreme Court has taken a strict view of such practices. These are known as set-up witnesses, and this is completely wrong.”